Chapter 267: Chapter 48: Lightning Purgatory Slaying the Monster Horde

The first Giant Scorching Beast to lunge forward was a size larger than even the other large Scorching Beasts. Its carapace was deep black and emanated an even heavier, more oppressive aura.

It raised its forelimb claws, each the size of a door panel, and slammed them down with the force to shatter rock!

The Flying Sword didn’t dodge or evade. The point of lightning at its tip suddenly flared to its brightest, aiming to pierce a single point, and brazenly crashed into the heavy claws!

CRACK!

BOOM!

The sound of shattering and the roar of Thunder exploded at the same time!

The Flying Sword’s ultimate sharpness and explosive power instantly pierced the tough carapace of the claws. Rampant Thunder Power surged wildly through the opening, blasting the limb’s internal structure to smithereens!

The Giant Scorching Beast let out a pained and furious roar, its massive body stumbling from the intense pain and loss of balance.

But the Flying Sword didn’t pause for a moment, shooting along the forelimb toward the beast’s head.

PFFT!

A spray of foul, dark-red, almost black blood mixed with shredded tissue erupted from the other side of its neck!

The Flying Sword passed through its brain. The Thunderbolt Power exploded a second time, turning the inside of its skull completely to charcoal!

The Giant Scorching Beast’s ferocious aura abruptly vanished. It crashed to the ground, kicking up a great cloud of dust.

Slaying a Giant Scorching Beast had taken but the blink of an eye.

However, more attacks were already upon him!

From the side, an Earth Rock Worm opened its fearsome, fang-lined maw and spewed a great cloud of poisonous mist mixed with burning crystal shards. Its range was vast, sealing off a large portion of Murphy’s escape routes!

Overhead, several slender, acid-spitting monsters clung to the nearby cliff walls, simultaneously spitting out foul-smelling green slime that rained down like a torrential storm!

Behind him, even more Scorching Beasts were swarming madly forward, blocking his path of retreat!

Murphy’s footwork shifted. His figure, like a willow catkin in the wind, drifted through the gap between the edge of the poisonous mist and the acid rain by a hair’s breadth. His deep blue silhouette left a trail of afterimages.

At the same time, his thoughts raced as he directed the Flying Sword to defend him.

The Flying Sword left a series of dazzling streaks of light in the air, like a shuttle weaving a tapestry of death.

It first dove sharply, the lightning on its blade erupting to form a small electric net that detonated and vaporized most of the acidic slime raining down.

Immediately after, the blade’s light swept out horizontally, slicing several ordinary large Scorching Beasts that had seized the opportunity to rush him in half at the waist.

Finally, the sword’s tip turned, transforming into a bolt of Dark Gold lightning that shot straight into the depths of the wide-open maw of the Earth Rock Worm that was spewing the poison mist!

GURGLE!

BOOM!!!

The Earth Rock Worm’s shriek was replaced by a muffled explosion. Its thick body suddenly swelled up as if being inflated, then burst apart from the inside out!

Countless charred chunks of flesh, shattered carapace fragments, and dark-red body fluids scattered and splashed like fireworks, dousing several nearby charging monsters and temporarily halting their assault.

Murphy seized this fleeting opening. The Qi inside him surged, and his speed increased by another thirty percent. He shot like a phantom through the gaps between the monster corpses, darting toward a rocky area at the edge of the valley where the monsters were relatively sparse!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Footsteps as heavy as war drums sounded from ahead and to the side, and the ground shook violently with them!

Three Colossal Scorching Beasts, even larger and with even thicker carapaces than the one from before, emerged. Like three mobile hills, they flanked him from the side of the rocky area, sealing his path!

At the same time, he felt the ground beneath his feet inexplicably loosen!

’Not good!’

Alarm bells screamed in Murphy’s mind, and he leaped into the air without a second thought!

RUMBLE!

Where he had just been standing, the rock abruptly buckled upward and exploded!

An Earth Rock Worm, even thicker than the last and covered in strange, dark-red patterns, burst from the ground. Its fang-filled maw, like the mouth of an abyss, snapped viciously at Murphy, who was now airborne and unable to change his momentum!

Its timing was impeccable, appearing just as Murphy’s upward momentum was spent, before he could generate a new push!

In mid-air, Murphy’s gaze sharpened. His Flying Sword had not yet returned, but he formed his fingers into a sword and pointed from afar!

A black beam of Sword Qi, so condensed it was almost solid, shot out from his fingertips. Though not as sharp as the Flying Sword itself, it lanced into the depths of the Earth Rock Worm’s open mouth!

HISS! BANG!

The Sword Qi detonated inside the monster’s body. Although it failed to blow it to pieces, it made the creature shriek in pain. Its snapping jaws faltered, and its massive head involuntarily recoiled.

Using that brief pause and the recoil, Murphy twisted his body in mid-air, grazing past the edge of the Earth Rock Worm’s toothy maw by the narrowest of margins and landing atop a large, protruding boulder nearby.

However, the three Colossal Scorching Beasts that had outflanked him were already closing in!

They formed a triangular pincer, their immense shadows enveloping the boulder where Murphy stood. Their heavy, ragged breaths washed over him, carrying a scorching, foul stench.

He was blocked from the front, flanked by the Earth Rock Worm, and faced with an endless tide of monsters from behind.

Murphy stood atop the rock, his robes whipping in the foul wind stirred up by the monsters, yet his expression remained as calm as a deep abyss.

He swept his gaze over the surging, dark-red tide around him, his eyes finally settling on the three most threatening Colossal Scorching Beasts.

’I can’t get bogged down here.’

’I have to break through!’

He took a deep breath, and the Black Light Mana within his mind suddenly soared!

His robes billowed without a wind, his black hair lifted slightly, and an aura far sharper and more dangerous than before exploded out from him!

The three Colossal Scorching Beasts seemed to sense the threat and let out low, menacing roars, but their charge only grew more frenzied!

Just then, the Dark Gold Flying Sword finally tore through the air, arriving with a sharp whistle. It hovered before Murphy, its blade trembling lightly and letting out an excited hum, as if thirsting for blood.

Murphy slowly raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward the hilt. Though he didn’t physically hold it, his own Qi connected completely with the Flying Sword’s.

A flash of Black Light flickered in his eyes.

The body of the Flying Sword shook violently!

The next moment, a scene that made all the monsters tremble unfolded!

The Flying Sword’s tip pointed down and slammed brazenly into the boulder beneath Murphy’s feet!

BOOM!

CRACKLE!!!

With the point of impact as the epicenter, countless thick, python-like bolts of violet-black lightning erupted like frenzied roots from within the boulder and the surrounding ground, spreading and exploding outward!

The rampaging Thunder Serpents spread out in all directions with astonishing speed, instantly covering the entire area dozens of meters around Murphy’s boulder!

The three Colossal Scorching Beasts in the lead were caught first. Countless Thunder Serpents coiled around them. Their hard carapaces cracked and blackened under the ferocious Thunderbolt Power. Their massive bodies convulsed violently in the lightning, and they let out bloodcurdling, agonized screams!

The Earth Rock Worm to the side, which had just recovered, was also swept up by the spreading Thunder Serpents. Its thick body writhed madly in the lightning before bursting apart!

The ordinary monsters charging from further away were instantly electrocuted to charcoal or torn to shreds by the darting Thunder Serpents the moment they stepped into the Thunder Realm’s range! 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The violet-black lightning flashed maniacally. The ear-piercing crackles blended into a continuous roar. The air filled with the pungent smell of ozone and the foul stench of burnt flesh and blood!

For a moment, this area had become a forbidden zone of life—a Purgatory of Thunder!

When the blinding lightning gradually dimmed and dissipated, the area for dozens of meters around the boulder where Murphy stood was a scene of scorched, devastated earth.

The three Colossal Scorching Beasts lay collapsed on the ground, their carapaces shattered and wisps of smoke rising from their bodies. All signs of life were gone.

The Earth Rock Worm was torn into several pieces, its remains charred black.

More monster corpses were scattered all around, like a wheat field ravaged by a storm.

Murphy stood atop the rock, his face slightly pale and his breathing a little ragged.

That large-scale explosive attack had taken a heavy toll.

But the results were remarkable. The surrounding monster horde was stunned by the terrifying might of the Thunder, causing a brief pause and chaos in their ranks. A clear gap had appeared in the encirclement.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Murphy’s figure once again became a blur. He leaped down from the top of the boulder, pushed his speed to the absolute limit, and made a desperate sprint toward a passage leading out of the valley where the monsters were thinnest!